Exploration Radio

In this episode, we are joined by Kyle Prentice and Justin Osborne who take us through their involvement in the discovery of the Gruyere deposit.  Let's explore.

The story of Laurentian university closing is a sad one, and there are many reasons why that happened. But one reason suggested by many is the financial pressure that COVID has caused on universities. In Australia, a number of universities decided to stop their support for geology programs. As a country that relies a lot on mining, this seemed to be a short-sighted decision. COVID has undoubtedly accelerated the closure of many geology departments. Today we are joined by Pete Betts from Monash University, who suggests other reasons why geology programs are struggling to keep their place. Maybe it had more to do with the fact that we find it hard to engage the wider society with regards to why our science is important and what value it actually provides.

“The River ran through the lives of our grandparents; it runs through our lives; it will run through the lives of our grandchildren. A dynamic force masked by a static constancy, the River will speak to those who listen — our land speaks.” The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) became law in 1971 and with that, it conveyed more than 45 million acres of land to village and regional corporations in Alaska. One of these corporations was Doyon Limited, an entity that today is a multi-billion dollar corporation and looks after an area the size of France. Negotiating access to land and navigating the rights that indigenous people have on that land are becoming critical issues for many industries. A lot of the dialogue on improving the dialogue with native title groups is often driven by the industry or government. What about the perspective from the other side? In this episode, we sit down for a chat with Aaron Schutt, President and Chief Executive Officer of Doyon, Limited. We find out why being brave mat

In this episode, we speak to Tony Reda from Tectonic Metals. Tony is trying to create a company where the non-technical opportunities or risks are just as critical a pillar in the company as identifying the technical opportunities present. They are trying to do the right thing as early as possible. Tony joined us today from his home in British Columbia to talk about what challenges he faces in trying to create such a company.

The early 90s marked one of the biggest staking rushes in Northwest Territories in northern Canada. A hundred years earlier, people had come pouring into the Canadian north looking for gold. This time around, they were looking for something else... diamonds. At the centre of this new rush was Chuck Fipke and Dia Met Minerals. On this episode of Exploration Radio, let's find out more about Chuck Fipke and his lifelong desire to be an explorer.

Eira Thomas started her career as an exploration geologist when she was part of the team that discovered what became the Diavik Diamond mine, Canada's second major diamond discovery and arguably one of the richest diamond mines in the world. In this episode, we continue our discussion with Eira. We find out what she sees as the future of the diamond industry, particularly in a world where sustainability and corporate social responsibility are playing an increasing important part.

In 1991, a then 20-something year old Eira Thomas set off to explore for diamonds in the Canadian North. This led to her being involved in the discovery of what was to become the Diavik Diamond mine - Canada’s second major diamond discovery and arguably one of the worlds richest diamond mines. Some 30 years later, Eira is still involved in the industry - nowadays she is the CEO of Lucara Diamond Company. Eira was kind enough to sit down with me and share some of her recollections of the Canadian Diamond rush, her subsequent nearly 30 year involvement in the industry and the often untold story of diamonds. This is part 1 of our 2 part interview with Eira. 

At the end of all of our interviews, Steve and I always ask our guests two questions: what is something they think that needs to live or be maintained in the mining industry at all costs; and what is something that needs to die or be jettisoned out of our industry? We thought it would be interesting to put together some of these responses we have received to those questions over the years. So on this episode of Ideas that Must Die and Live in Mining, we are joined by, Justin Strharsky, Michelle Ash, Saleem Ali, Mary Poulton, Marcus Lake, Michelle Carey and Samantha Copeland. Let’s find out what they had to say.

At the end of all of our interviews, Steve and I always ask our guests two questions: what is something they think that needs to live and what is something that needs to die in the mining industry? We thought it would be interesting to put together some of these responses we have received to those questions over the years. So on this episode of Ideas That Must, we are joined by, in order, Mark Bennett, Attila Pentek, Richard Scott, Holly Bridgwater, Mark Bennett (again), Marcus Lake, Michelle Carey, Holly Bridgwater (again), Justin Strharsky and Samantha Copeland. Let’s find out what they had to say.

At the end of all of our interviews, Steve and I always ask our guests two questions: what is something they think that needs to live and what is something that needs to die in the mining industry? We thought it would be interesting to put together some of these responses we have received to those questions over the years. So on this episode of Ideas That Must Die in Mining, we are joined by, in order: Jon Goodman, Attila Pentek, Jon Hronsky, Tony Manini, Hedley Widdup and Mary Poulton. Lets find out what they had to say.

Keith Barron is often referred to as the Indiana Jones of Mining. His search for the Lost Cities of Gold could easily be a movie plot line. But there is so much more to this story than that. 

The elephant in the room is that the mining industry has lost the trust of the most serious investors, causing an exodus of capital that will not return quickly. 

A common career fork in the road: to stay and be loyal to a company to earn opportunities? Or to leave and pursue challenges elsewhere? That is the question in the minds of many.

Over the last 4 years, Steve and I have been the interviewers asking all the questions. This time, we are the ones answering the questions. And you the listeners get to find out what you have always wanted to know about Exploration Radio.

Career paths for executives and managers are usually well established. For technical roles, usually not so. What is Kathy Ehrig's secret to surviving as one for nearly 3 decades at BHP? Learning a new language.

UNCOVER was an initiative setup to combat the declining rate of mineral discoveries in Australia. There were many good outcomes from the project; NExUS being one. But perhaps in the end, the project struggled to accomplish its main goal - of changing the exploration industry in Australia.

Over 80 years ago, Walt Disney started teaching his employees how to become better animators. Richard Lilly and NExUS are trying to do the same with geoscientists now.

Everyone says making changes in big companies is like turning around the Titanic. Find out how Sam Walsh did it for one of the biggest companies in the world. 

We are obsessed with technology that gives us data in real time. What we really need is the ability to make better decisions in near real time.

Would early stage exploration be more successful in attracting investment if it was funded by private investors... like how venture capital firms fund startups in other industries.